Mike Rhoades knew this stretch of the season wouldn’t be easy. And though Penn State battled back from a 14-point deficit, at one point leading by as many as nine points in the second half, it ultimately couldn’t finish the job in a 82-81 loss to No. 15 Oregon on Sunday. It marked the Nittany Lions’ third consecutive defeat.
“We just choked down the stretch,” said Rhoades, with a hoarse voice. “We want to take pride, in the last six minutes of the game, in being solid on (defense). We gave up two threes, miscommunication. Talk about being solid on defense, and we weren’t. We talk about taking care of the basketball. We had two turnovers that led to baskets. … That was a game we could have won, but we didn’t.”
Zach Hicks nailed a 3-pointer with two seconds remaining that brought things within one point. But there wasn’t enough time to finish the comeback. The Ducks inbounded and the Nittany Lions attempted to foul, but couldn’t get the call. The buzzer sounded as Rhoades pleaded with officials, who walked off the court. No review.
“I told the refs we’re gonna be physical before they throw it in. So if they call a foul, they call a foul. I told them,” Rhoades said. “The other thing is, when you put two hands on a player when he catches the ball, I thought in the rules, that’s a foul, especially when you know you’re fouling. So it should have been a foul. Two hands on the guy with the ball is an automatic foul in college basketball, period. So they go shoot free throws, and we have a play for that.”
Penn State’s leading scorer Ace Baldwin Jr. sat out with an injury as Freddie Dilione V led the way with a career-high 21 points. Nick Kern Jr. contributed 19 points and eight rebounds, Puff Johnson scored 15 points and Hicks finished with 14 points and seven rebounds. It was a frustrating finish for a team that turned on the jets in the second half after early struggles.
The Nittany Lions could hardly shoot in the first half, but finished the afternoon with seven makes from 3-point range, their most in six games. It was a step in the right direction for a team that made just two attempts from beyond the arc in a 91-52 loss to No. 13 Illinois on Wednesday.
“We just got in a rhythm there to get the lead. I just thought our guys didn’t lose their mind like we did the other day, and we just hung in there,” Rhoades said. “… I thought in the second half, offensively, we got downhill. We got aggressive, and we made some threes too.”
With a road trip to face No. 16 Michigan State on the horizon, the treacherous road continues for a Penn State team searching for its NCAA Tournament appearance under Rhoades.
“The Big Ten is a beast. We all know that. But that’s what we signed up for. That’s the fun of it,” Rhoades said. “And you saw the scores this weekend. Like you get your butt kicked one game, you can low in the next one. You might lose three in a row, you go win two in a row. Now you’re hot. Like, you gotta put your armor on and you got to go to work.”
BALDWIN’S INJURY STATUS
Baldwin has been ruled “day to day,” Rhoades said postgame. He injured his back while drawing a foul in the first half of the loss to the Fighting Illini. Baldwin did not return for the second half of that game, and did not dress in uniform as he watched from the sidelines against Oregon.
